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The CHIRP Blog
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Prince Edition
He’s enigmatic, charismatic, and a-u-t-o matic. Prince turns 54 years old today, and while he hasn’t wowed anyone with his new recordings lately, he is still a king on the concert stage, and why not? With his deep catalog, ace bands, killer guitar skills, amazing dance moves and total command of an audience, he is one pop music’s all time great live attractions. On top of that, he built a musical empire in the ‘80s. A studio rat, he played everything on his earliest records, mixed funk with new wave sounds, and pushed the envelope lyrically and visually, taking an androgyny page out of the David Bowie playbook. Then, in the mid-80's, he was one of the biggest stars, and deservedly so. I still remember the electricity at the Yorktown Theatre, watching Purple Rain in packed movie house, everyone going nuts when “Let’s Go Crazy” kicked in. In honor of this legend, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle, and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Kelsey Phillips writesPresenting CHIRP Night at The Whistler with the I Ching Quartet!
It's that time, folks! Every second Monday of the month, CHIRP gathers some great live musicians and some people that dig live music in the magical cocktail-heaven that is The Whistler!
This month CHIRP welcomes local folksters I Ching Quartet (pronounced "EE CHING"), which ironically is NOT, in fact, a quartet anymore. Formed in 2005 by four friends on a porch on the West side, I Ching has evolved into seven active members with occasional guest appearances. They rock everything from banjos to violins to ukeleles, and perform soulful acoustic folk music that the group has said is best experienced live. Joined by I Ching is local singer/songwriter Kelsey Wild, who, at the ripe age of 22, has been writing music since 2004 and has played venues across the city, Township and the Double Door to name just a few.
This is a great local lineup that you won't want to miss, plus CHIRP DJs will be playing after sets and raffling off some great prizes, as per usual. Head down to the Whistler on Monday, June 10th for this 21+ event. No cover, and festivities start at 9pm. See you there!
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday 06/07 to Thursday 06/13
(Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday June 7
Tony, Aaron & Rebecca of The Tossers
Abbey Pub 9:30pm, 21+
T. Valentine, The Bama Lamas, Girl Group Chicago, The Polkaholics
Beat Kitchen 8:30pm
Spitalfield
Bottom Lounge 7pm
Killer Moon, Rabble Rabble, Creepy Band, Plastic Crimewave Syndicate
Double Door 8:30pm, 21+
The Hoyle Brothers
Empty Bottle 5:30pm, 21+
Jason Crock writesCHIRP Radio Welcomes !!! to Bottom Lounge on Saturday, June 8
CHIRP welcomes !!! to their show at Bottom Lounge on Saturday, June 8. The band has been sticking it to conventional pronunciation since 2001, blending disparate strands of punk and dance music over several albums and singles for labels like GSL, Touch & Go and Warp. The now-veteran dance-punk band just released their fifth album, THR!!!ER, this year on Warp. But their reputation was made on their thrilling live show, and after being together for over a decade, the band shows no signs of slowing down.
DFA recording artist Sinkane opens the all-ages show starting at 7PM, where our volunteers will be on-hand, grooving responsibly behind the CHIRP table. Visit bottomlounge.com for more info.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Wesley Willis Edition
Today, let’s pay tribute to a local legend, the late Wesley Willis. When I moved into the city from the ‘burbs in the early ‘90s, he was a ubiquitous presence. Wesley was a big dude who you’d see at shows or in the middle of the street, hawking his ink pen drawings of cityscapes and other things. He’d greet many folks with a head butt. Wesley was schizophrenic, and in addition to his visual art, he bought a cheap Casio keyboard and began composing and recording brief songs, often depicting shows he’d seen, with direct, narrative lyrics, ending almost every song with “Rock over London/rock on Chicago” followed by some advertising catch phrase, like “Cadillac – it’s got style.” He later fronted the hard rock Wesley Willis Fiasco. As with other outsider art (ex. – Daniel Johnston), the question was always whether Wesley was being exploited, and that can be debated. All I can say is that he was a memorable part of the Chicago music scene and he sure seemed to enjoy being a part of it. In honor of Wesley, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.